Minutes

By-Laws Amendments

By-Laws Committee

The By-Laws Committtee meets to review the By-Laws and suggest amendments. If you wish to submit a suggestion for a revision, send it to ncpcivic@gmail.com and it will be forwarded to the committee.

By-Laws

Article I: Name
The name of this organization shall be The North College Park Community Association, Inc., hereinafter referred to as “the NCPCA”.

Article II: Purpose
Section 1: Purpose. The NCPCA’s objective shall be to stimulate interest in and devise ways and means for the promotion of civic, community and general welfare, giving special attention to public improvements beneficial to the North College Park area. The North College Park area shall be defined as the area north of Greenbelt Road and east of Paint Branch Creek, within the boundaries of the City of College Park.

Section 2: Restrictions. The NCPCA shall be strictly non-partisan, non-political, and non-sectarian. No funds shall be given to candidates for office or to religious organizations. It reserves the right, however, to advocate or oppose any legislation affecting the welfare of the North College Park area.

Section 3: Other groups. The NCPCA shall endeavor to cooperate with other civic groups to promote the general welfare of the City of College Park.

Article III: Officers and Board of DirectorsSection 1: Officers. The officers of the NCPCA shall be the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. These officers shall constitute the Executive Committee and shall be elected pursuant to Article VII, Election of Officers.

Section 2: Directors. The affairs and business of the NCPCA shall be managed by a board of not more than seven (7) directors, four (4) of whom shall be the officers of the Association. The additional directors, if any, shall be appointed by the President subject to approval of those members present at the next regular meeting. The directors’ term of office shall expire at the end of the June meeting following their appointment.

Section 3: Meetings. Special or regular meetings of the Board of Directors shall be called by the President whenever he or she shall deem the same to be necessary or whenever called upon to do so by two or more members of the Board of Directors.

Section 4: Removal of Directors. Appointed directors may be removed by the President subject to a vote of those members present at the next regular meeting.

Section 5: Compensation. No officer or director shall receive any compensation for their services to NCPCA.

Article IV: Membership
Section 1: Eligibility.: Membership in the NCPCA shall be open to all residents in theNorth College Park area, aged 18 and over.

Section 2: Definition: A member shall be defined as a person who meets the eligibility requirements and has paid the NCPCA annual dues. Each such person shall be entered on the official membership roll.

Section 3: Dues: Membership dues shall be assessed annually on an individual basis. The Membership Year shall be from 1 June to 31 May. Dues must be paid prior to the start of the meeting in order to vote on Association business.

Membership dues may be set or changed by a majority vote of members, provided that notice will be given to the members at least five (5) days before any meeting at which a vote to increase dues will be taken. The Association may, in addition to dues, assess an annual mailing fee to cover the cost of sending the newsletter and other communications by postal mail.

Article V: Meetings
Section 1: Frequency. The regular meetings of the NCPCA shall be held on the second Thursday of each month except July and August, when meetings are not mandatory.

Section 2: When and where. The NCPCA shall designate the time and place of each regular meeting.

Section 3: Special meetings. Special meetings may be called by the President or the Executive Committee when necessary. Written notice will be given to the members at least three days before holding a special meeting.

Section 4: Notification. The Executive Committee shall make every effort to notify the citizens of the North College Park area of the time and place of all regular and special meetings.

Section 5: Quorum. The presence of five members, other than the Executive Committee shall be required to constitute a quorum in any regular or special meeting of the NCPCA.

Section 6: Eligibility to vote. To be eligible to vote on any issue at a meeting, a person must be a member of the NCPCA prior to the start of that meeting.

Section 7: Procedure. The NCPCA’s suggested order of business at each regular or special meeting shall be as follows:

This order of business shall be appropriately modified for special meetings.

Section 8: Rules of order. All regular and special meetings shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order; however, strict compliance is not mandated.

Article VI: Duties and Powers of Officers
Section 1: President. The President shall be the chief executive officer of the NCPCA; shall preside at all regular and special meetings of the membership; and shall cast the deciding vote in case of a tie.

Section 2: Vice-President. The Vice-President shall perform all the duties of the President in the latter’s absence or inability to act; shall maintain the official list of members of the NCPCA; and shall perform other duties as assigned by the President.

Section 3: Secretary. The Secretary shall keep a correct and complete record of the proceedings of the NCPCA; shall conduct all correspondence ordered by the NCPCA pertaining to its business; shall maintain a roll of members and guests present at each regular or special meeting; shall file all communications and copies of correspondence; and shall be responsible for maintaining an up-to-date copy of the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws.

Section 4: Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be custodian of the funds of the NCPCA; shall make payments by direction of the NCPCA; and shall reimburse any authorized expenditure of the NCPCA.

Section 5: Expenditures. The President, with the concurrence of the Treasurer, shall have the authority to approve expenditures totaling not more than $150 in the interim between meetings without prior approval by the members. The President shall report all such expenditures at the next meeting.

Section 6: Powers. The Executive Committee shall have the authority to act for and to represent the NCPCA in the interim between meetings, subject to the subsequent approval of the membership.

Section 7: Officers’ Limitations. No officer shall commit the NCPCA to the advocacy or opposition to any subject without prior confirmation of the NCPCA or its Executive Committee.

Article VII: Election and Removal of OfficersSection 1: Date and Nominations. The election of officers shall be held at the June meeting of each year. Nominations for each office shall be accepted at the May meeting of each year. Any member may nominate or be nominated for any office.

Section 2: Nominating Committee. No later than the April meeting the President shall appoint a Nominating Committee consisting of three (3) members to make nominations.

Section 3: Term and Procedure. All officers shall be elected for a term of one year. The President shall cause ballots to be prepared for the June meeting with the names of all persons duly nominated at the May meeting, and shall appoint an election committee to count ballots at the June meeting. Elections shall be by secret ballot for each contested office; if an office has only one candidate, a motion from the floor to elect that candidate by acclamation shall be in order. A majority of the votes cast shall be required to elect each officer. Voting at the June meeting for election of officers shall be open to all members of record and tallied as soon as possible after the ballots are cast. When the ballots for any office do not provide a majority of votes for a candidate, then the names of the two candidates with the most votes for the office shall be immediately entered into a run-off election. The candidate with the majority of votes cast in the run-off election shall be elected.

Section 4: Continuance in Office. In the event that nominees for an office cannot be identified for election at the June meeting, that officer shall continue in office until such time as sufficient nominees are identified and an election is held. If the election of officers cannot take place at the June meeting, the election shall take place at the next scheduled meeting at which sufficient nominees exist for election.

Section 5: Vacancy. In the event any office becomes vacant by reason of death, resignation or any other cause, said vacancy shall be filled at the next regular meeting in such manner as a majority of the members shall determine.

Section 6: Effective Date. All officers elected at the June meeting, or at any other time shall assume their duties at the conclusion of the meeting at which they were elected, and retiring officers shall continue to perform their duties as officers until the conclusion of the meeting at which their successors are elected.

Section 7: Removal. Any officer who fails to fulfill her/her duties as defined by these By-Laws may be removed by two-thirds vote of those present, but in no event less than a quorum, at a special meeting called for that purpose. Written notice will be given to the members at least three days before the special meeting. Said person under no circumstances shall preside at the meeting.

Article VIII: Adoption and Amendments
Section 1: Adoption. These By-Laws shall become effective when adopted by a two-thirds vote of the members present at the meeting, provided they shall have been offered and ordered received at a prior meeting of the Association, and they shall supersede all previous By-Laws heretofore adopted by the Association.

Section 2: Amendment. Any member may initiate a proposal to amend these bylaws at any regular meeting of the NCPCA. The majority of the members present shall determine whether an amendment should be placed on the agenda of the next regular meeting and considered for adoption at that meeting. If the majority so decides, a written copy of the proposed amendment(s) to the By-Laws shall be given or mailed to each member at least five days before the meeting at which the vote is to be taken. At that meeting, the adoption of the proposed amendment to the By-Laws shall require two-thirds vote of members present, but in no event less than a quorum.

Article IX: Committees
The President shall have the power to create and appoint members to committees at such times and in such numbers as he/she deems necessary.

Article X: Dissolution

Section 1: Procedure. Any member may initiate a proposal to dissolve the Association under sections 3 or 4 of this Article at any regular meeting of the NCPCA. The majority of the members present shall determine, without debate, whether the proposal should be placed on the agenda of the next regular meeting and considered for adoption at that meeting. If the majority so decides, a written copy of the proposal shall be given or mailed to each member at least five days before the meeting at which the vote is to be taken. At that meeting, the adoption of the proposal shall require two-thirds vote of members present, but in no event less than a quorum.

Section 2: Dissolution for Lack of Interest. If there is no quorum for four (4) consecutive meetings the Board of Directors may, by a two-thirds vote, dissolve the NCPCA.

Section 3: Geographical Division. Any member may initiate a proposal to divide the Association into smaller geographic parts at any regular meeting of the NCPCA. The motion must state the new boundaries of the successor organization to NCPCA and the persons who will be responsible for organizing each. The procedure specified in section 1 must be followed.

Section 4: Dissolution for Any Other Reason. Any member may initiate a proposal to dissolve the Association for any other reason at any regular meeting of the NCPCA. The procedure specified in section 1 must be followed.

Section 5: Distribution of Assets Upon Dissolution. If the Organization is dissolved under section 2 (Division), the Board of Directors shall distribute the assets of the NCPCA to the successor organizations in proportion to the number of NCPCA members in good standing within each new organization’s respective boundaries.

In all other instances and in the absence of specific instructions from the membership, the Board of Directors shall distribute the assets of the NCPCA to an account designated by the City of College Park for public improvements within the boundaries described in Article II, Section 1. An account existing for a narrower purpose, such as the Veterans Memorial, Duvall Field, or the Youth and Family Services Building, satisfies this requirement.

Section 6: Restrictions. In no event shall any member benefit financially from the distribution of assets. Any distribution of assets must be in accord with the restrictions in Article II, Section 2.

Presented: December 12, 1996 Adopted: January 9, 1997 Last amended: March 9, 2017